Man dies after Muni collision

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A San Francisco attorney died Wednesday morning after being hit by a bus in the Financial District.

Scott Whitsett, 49, stepped off the curb onto the rain slicked pavement of Mission Street near his office at LexisNexis about 11 a.m. There was a collision and Whitsett ended up trapped under the front of a bus.

The incident occurred at the intersection of Mission and Beale streets. Firefighters used a hydraulic lift and wood planks to lift the bus and extricate Whitsett, according to fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge.

He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries, Talmadge said. Whitsett was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

He walked out onto the street and was then hit, according to police Lt. Lyn Tomioka.

“A first bus appeared to be stopped [at the intersection],” Tomioka said. “A second bus was coming up as he appeared to have stepped into the lane of traffic. The second bus hit him, and pinned him to the first bus.”

At the scene, the driver of the Muni bus was visibly upset, crying into the arms of a friend as nearby workers watched the grisly scene.

This was the first fatality Muni has reported this year. A bus struck a pedestrian in February on San Bruno Avenue, but the victim survived, according to police. Fatalities involving Muni vehicles have decreased since 2007, when there were eight reported.

The drivers of both Muni buses have been placed on nondriving status and were tested for drugs and alcohol, per normal procedure, according to Muni spokeswoman Kristen Holland.

Service on the 14-Mission and the 14-Mission Limited in the outbound direction was disrupted due to the crash. Muni service was back to normal Wednesday afternoon after being rerouted for a few hours after the incident.